Flight Rising is a game where players are in charge of a Lair full of dragons. Pick a male and a female – breed them – and see what the babies look like. There are things in the game that can help players figure out what the babies might look like before they commit to breeding two potential parent dragons. Sometimes, despite best efforts, players end up with some severely ugly dragons.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some people are greatly amused by ugly dragons. There’s even a Tumblr blog called Ugly Dragons of Flight Rising. Recently, I intentionally purchased what might be considered an ugly dragon from the Auction House. I found a way to make her much prettier!
All of the artwork in this post is copyright of Flight Rising.
You could say that this little experiment started about a year ago during the 2014 Trickmurk Circus holiday. Quite randomly, I ended up receiving a holiday skin. I’d never actually used a skin to improve the appearance of my dragons before, so this was intriguing. That being said, it took me about a year to be able to use it.
The item fell out of a Hideshadow Chest (along with some Treasure and some Gems). The “Hidden in Shadow” skin can only be used on a female Coatl dragon. I thought this skin was absolutely beautiful and wanted to use it right away. The problem was that I didn’t yet have any Coatl dragons yet.
The Coatl dragons were fairly new at the time. They were expensive to purchase from the Auction House. My plan was to wait until the price went down and then buy a female one who could wear this lovely “Hidden in Shadow” skin.
That’s not what ended up happening, though. My first Coatl dragon purchase was of a male Coatl. Why? It had to do with the Flight Rising Legacy Challenge. For those that are unaware, it is an unofficial dragon breeding challenge that lasts for ten generations. The goal is to end up with a beautiful triple-gened dragon. I didn’t end up achieving that goal, but it was fun to try.
My Founder dragon for my fifth generation was female. The Flight Rising Legacy Challenge requires players to buy mates for their Founder dragons from the Auction House. It’s a good idea to be frugal when purchasing a mate dragon, and I also was trying to find one with specific genes. I ended up with a male Coatl dragon that I named Jacinto.
Jacinto is a male Coatl.
Primary: Blue Iridescent
Secondary: Steel Shimmer
Tertiary: Sky Gembond
This is what he looked like when I purchased him. I don’t consider him to be an ugly dragon, but he is kind of bland in color.
Jacinto is now wearing four pieces of apparel that bring him a little more color variation. That’s better!
Sapphire Tail Feathers: – Apparel – A forked tail, fashioned from wax and feather. Sell Value: 1525.
Simple Gold Bracelets: – Apparel – The perfect complete to any outfit, these golden bracelets sparkle when they catch the light. – Sell Value 500.
Emerald Deepsea Bulb: – Apparel – A long filament, sprouting from the forehead. This one gives off a bright emerald glow when danger is approaching. – Sell Value: 1450.
Chartreuse Wooly Coat: – Apparel – No tundras were harmed in the making of this… chartreuse wooly coat? Who thought this was a good idea? – Sell Value: 900.
It took me until recently to remember that I had a female Coatl skin that was just waiting to be used. The price of Coatl dragons had dropped since they were brand new. My plan was to purchase the least expensive one I could find, since it didn’t really matter what she looked like. An ugly dragon would do!
Xochi is a female Coatl.
Primary: Avocado Iridescent
Secondary: Caribbean Seraph
Tertiary: Magenta Gembond
Baby Coatl are adorable, but this one was so bright that she could be described as an “eyesore”. She didn’t grow out of her ugly, either.
Xochi was the perfect dragon to use the “Hidden in Shadow” skin. It instantly improved her appearance. Skins are a great way to turn an ugly dragon into one that is absolutely beautiful.
It should be noted that putting a skin on a dragon doesn’t actually change their genes. Someday, when I breed Jacinto and Xochi they will produce gloriously ugly dragon babies. A few things have to happen before I can do that. First, Xochi has to become ready to breed. If I remember correctly, that won’t happen for about 25 days or so. I also need to buy some more space in my Dragon Lair.